I've recently switched back to a 2 hand backhand, and it's been a bit of a blessing for me. It's definitely 10 X more solid than the 1 hander, and a lot more variety too.
When I was playing, I asked my coach what he though of how far your arms ought to be extended when hitting it. Like, how far out from your body. Preciously, I had them fully extended, but he said to try and get them to be as close to your body as possible, within a certain ranger (100 degrees ish, but not straight because the closer an object is to your body, the faster it moves.

What do you guys generally do with your backhands? 1 handers are obviously straight, but I've seen some 2 handers, namely Nadal, who tend to swing with straight arms. Maybe because he's so much stronger than the other pro's?.

05-05-2010, 12:45 AM

Lawn Tennis

i know why all the sudden your two-handed backhand is good. Assuming you're a rightie, you are now right hand dominant. While it's best for a righty's 2-h bh to be left hand dominant, either is better than neither. So what I'm saying is, you're right arm is trained to do all the work itself, and now it has an assistant in the form of your left hand. Practice left-handed forehands if you really want to take that shot to the next level.

Now to answer your question. :) (though i kinda did already) The two-hander needs to be extended just like you would hit your forehand. A small bend is optimal. Your left arm should be swinging at the ball as though it were a lefty forehand - the right arm is simply there for support and physically closer to the body because it is a below the left hand on the racquet handle. Check out Serena's bh. To me she is very easy to imitate. She doesn't have the most natural-looking swing, but has the core steps down. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6e...rehand-s_sport

05-05-2010, 05:58 PM

AlexLogan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lawn Tennis

i know why all the sudden your two-handed backhand is good. Assuming you're a rightie, you are now right hand dominant. While it's best for a righty's 2-h bh to be left hand dominant, either is better than neither. So what I'm saying is, you're right arm is trained to do all the work itself, and now it has an assistant in the form of your left hand. Practice left-handed forehands if you really want to take that shot to the next level.

Now to answer your question. :) (though i kinda did already) The two-hander needs to be extended just like you would hit your forehand. A small bend is optimal. Your left arm should be swinging at the ball as though it were a lefty forehand - the right arm is simply there for support and physically closer to the body because it is a below the left hand on the racquet handle. Check out Serena's bh. To me she is very easy to imitate. She doesn't have the most natural-looking swing, but has the core steps down. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6e...rehand-s_sport

Try checking out Nalbandian's, Djokovic's or Agassi's backhands (three of the best). They have that small bend that Lawn Tennis is talking about.

In general, the closer the hands are to the body in a 2HBH, the more one tends to use one's core, IMO. If the elbows are not close to the body, I think one would tend to arm the ball and kind of rotate without using the hips/core. I find that the push off the ground with the backfoot is more effective when the arms are close to the body.

05-06-2010, 12:22 AM

03White

^Thats something close to what my coach said.
@LT, its funny you mention lefty forehands, because recently i've been making an effort to do stuff with my left hand, apparently it makes you smarter or something like that. Because of this, I've been able to hit a lot better than previously. The one handers really make you rotate, muscling is like a complete nono, and that kind of got me to rotate a ton more. I'm trying to have (for all my groundstroke drives), have my hitting shoulder face the net at the end of the shot. It's difficult, but the results are sweet.
@ AlexLogan, thanks for the videos.

05-06-2010, 02:09 PM

LeeD

First of all, you logic is flawed. Short arms, or shortarming the stroke, or shortening the leverage arm, gives you less rackethead speed, but allows your body to rotate faster.
It's all about personal preferences, how you like to hit the ball, which method is more consistent with good enough power. Practice and adopt your own distance from the ball.
Another mistaken premise of yours.... A solid, consistent topspin 1hbh is not contacted away from the body, but rather in almost the same distance from the body as a 2hbh. Yes, the arms are straightened out, but the shot is hit further IN FRONT of the body, thus the distance is about the same as 2hbh's.

05-06-2010, 10:23 PM

03White

ohh, and that faster rotation can translate into power.
And thanks for the tip about the 1bh, I'll try that when I practice.